Strongest Soldier King

Dense bullets hit the cliff rocks, ricocheting wildly with sparks flying everywhere. An oppressive aura of death permeated everyone's hearts, weighing heavily upon them. The pursuing enemies had already drawn much closer, and the increasing threat of their firearms made it difficult for anyone to aim calmly and take out their targets. The team had switched to assault rifles and continued to fire at every visible enemy trace. Luo Zheng, leaning against a huge rock, gasped for breath. The run had exhausted him, his heart beating excessively fast, barely keeping up with his blood flow, making his head spin. Seeing Lan Xue's concerned gaze warmed his heart, and he nodded in acknowledgment.

During battle was not the time for displays of affection, and Lan Xue was not the type of woman to be overly sentimental. Accustomed to combat alongside the Mysterious Army instead of being relegated to logistics, Lan Xue had developed a strong, calm demeanor, used to expressing her innermost feelings in a military manner—a look, an expression, a gesture was enough.

"The enemy is advancing; there must be more than two hundred of them," Lan Xue said coldly, her face unflinching as if such a number of enemies posed no threat at all, her eyes sparking with confident and powerful light.

Luo Zheng was still immersed in the regret of Fox Wolf's escape. Looking ahead at the battlefield, Ghost Hand and others were hiding in the forest, accurately taking down the advancing enemies. Ghost Team was also taking out every visible enemy. As the distance shortened, everyone's hit rate increased; the pressure on the enemy grew, but it was hard to say how long that would last. He couldn't help saying, "Let's retreat. Your people will lead the assault; mine will cover."

"That will do, be careful," Lan Xue acknowledged, knowing that Luo Zheng's arrangement was the most sensible one. Her own squad had strong combat capabilities, perfect for breaking through the enemy's ranks. The Ghost Team, skilled snipers, could cover the retreat and provide accurate suppressive fire as they attacked, so she immediately gave orders to Ghost Hand and the others.

Luo Zheng loaded an explosive round, took aim at a densely populated area, and decisively fired. The bomb was packed with a larger amount of explosive and had a thinner shell. Its primary function was to use the tremendous shock wave generated by the explosion to destroy the target. Through the sniper scope, Luo Zheng saw shrapnel flying everywhere, many people falling to the ground, groaning in pain. But even more enemies surged forward, now just fifty meters away from the squad.

At that moment, Ghost Hand and the others evacuated the small forest in front of the cliff and sprinted away in a triangular formation to one side. Luo Zheng quickly packed up his belongings, slung the General's backpack on, and prepared to evacuate. He glanced at his squad, who were also ready, and immediately shouted, "Brothers, greet them with grenades and retreat!" With that, he vigorously threw a grenade out and looked at Lan Xue, who nodded.

"Kill!" Luo Zheng picked up his assault rifle and bellowed as he burst from cover, running with a crouch, shooting at the enemy. The sudden appearance of grenades and the intense automatic gunfire startled the enemy, who promptly hit the ground for cover. In those two or three seconds, everyone had evacuated, and by the time the pursuers reacted, the team had already run twenty-odd meters out of sight, their line of fire obscured by the dense forest, making it difficult for an effective sweep.

The pursuers were furious. It was humiliating to suffer such heavy losses and still let their prey escape. At the leader's command, they howled as they charged up the slope, intending to follow the cliffside in pursuit, oblivious to the trap mines beneath their feet. A series of explosives went off, decimating the thirty-odd people at the front, scattering limbs and flesh amidst the trees, soaking the forest in blood. Cries of agony rose and fell as terror spread through everyone's minds. Those following hunkered down, shell-shocked, not daring to chase carelessly anymore.

Fox Wolf, supported by a makeshift crutch fashioned from a tree branch, approached with a frosty expression, his face pallid, feeling a surge of resentment boiling inside him, uncontrollable. With a retch, he spewed a mouthful of fresh blood. A person dressed in a camouflage suit quickly stepped forward, but Fox Wolf raised his hand, signaling not to worry, and slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his complexion turning pale. His angry eyes, bloodshot and emotionless, asked, "What are our losses?"

"More than half, yet to be counted," replied another person in a camouflage suit, respectfully.

"More than half?" Fox Wolf's face became even uglier, his chest heaving erratically as he stared at the direction Luo Zheng and others were retreating to, his eyes almost bleeding. After coughing a few times and feeling the resentment in his chest ease somewhat, he said, "Tell them, each dead gets an extra twenty thousand, each wounded gets an extra ten thousand. If they want the money, they'd better chase after them. I didn't pay them to stand around; no money for cowards."

"Yes," replied the person in the camouflage suit respectfully.

"Wait," Fox Wolf stopped him, taking a few deep breaths until he felt a bit better, then spoke coldly, "The target is stronger than we thought, and the number of people is different from the intelligence reports. There are four extra, and each one is formidable. Tell me honestly, could it be that the person who leaked the information is trying to kill us by proxy?"

"We cannot rule out that possibility," the person in the camouflage suit respectfully answered.

"Bastard," Fox Wolf cursed furiously, his chest tightening as he coughed a few more times, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. The blood fell to the ground, staining the green grass, which was quickly washed away by the heavy rain. Fox Wolf glanced at his demoralized outlaws and couldn't help feeling desolate. The once buoyant Wild Wolf Mercenary Group had fallen to such a state, having to rely on these scoundrels to fight the enemy. His hatred for Luo Zheng reached an all-time high, and thinking of those four skilled individuals, Fox Wolf grew suspicious.

After a while, Fox Wolf said coldly, "Send orders to headquarters, we must find out the identities of those four, and also the real intention behind the leak of information. Those who dare to deceive the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group only have one fate. We've been defeated in this battle, the morale is low, we cannot continue fighting. Retreat for now, go."

"But?" The person in the camouflage suit seemed reluctant to say something but was harshly cut off by Fox Wolf. Fox Wolf looked at him coldly, then turned his gaze to the slowly gathering outlaws, and said coldly, "Look at them and then look at me. Do you think you and I and a group of people who have lost their fighting spirit can take down the target?"

"No, but we can call for reinforcements from headquarters," the person in the camouflage suit reminded unwillingly.

"Reinforcements? No, you're wrong," Fox Wolf gave a vicious cold smirk, pointing to the direction where Luo Zheng and the others had disappeared and said coldly, "All this way, they've spared no expense heading west. Why?"

"Are you suggesting they're planning a sneak attack on our base?" The person in the camouflage suit asked in shock, looking at Fox Wolf for answers.